I am the writer of this recipe, and am so glad that others have enjoyed it! I wanted to mention a few things. First, please use REAL bacon crumbles, NOT imitation bacon bits. Hormel makes these, as do others. I can't imagine this would be the same with imitation bacon bits. The dry ranch dressing mix adds a great amount of flavor, so don't skip it. However, if you don't have dry ranch dressing mix, you can make your own (below). It makes a large amount, but is great for so many things (on meat, in soups/chili, burritos, etc.) To make it, simply combine and store in an airtight container:
1/4 cup dried chives
1/4 cup dried parsley
1/4 cup dried dill weed
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
Another variation my family enjoys is adding 1/2 cup-1 cup of Velveta Cheese. Also, for clarification, the 10 red potatoes are small-medium sized. If you buy the large ones, that are about the size of the palm of a hand, I would significantly cut back the number.
I doubled this recipe. Because I did not have chicken bouillion granules on hand, I used 6 cups of organic chicken broth. I also used homemade dry ranch seasoning mix. I needed this to be more filling (as in more meat.....my husband does not think that soup is a meal, I have to beef it up a bit), I chopped up two packages John Morrell smoked sausage and sauteed them with the onion and garlic before throwing them in. VERY GOOD. All the ingredients work together perfectly and there's just enough creaminess and just enough cheese to give it flavor without a lot of fat. Everyone liked this soup, my husband even!
Great recipe! I have already shared with several people at work. Freezes & reheats well. Serve with fresh loaf of French bread.
This is awesome! It's been simmering all day (well, 5 hours on high) and just finished about 1/2 hour ago. Here are my modifications: I doubled the recipe, used 3 cups of chicken broth and 3 cups water, added about 6 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder to round out the 'chickeny' flavor, used onion powder instead of onions (onions aren't my favorite), and pan fried the bacon myself (I didn't want to use the store bought bacon bits). About 10 mins after adding the half and half, I also added about 5 oz of the reduced-fat 2% milk Velveeta (per the authors suggestion!) and it turned out AMAZEBALLS! I ladled myself a bowl and garnished it with shredded medium cheddar and sliced green onions. My fiancé was walking out the door and I told him (the guy in the profile pic is my fiancé) to take a taste. His reaction was 'Oh MAN that is delicious. I don't think we'll have any left to share!' Keep in mind I doubled the recipe lol. This dish is a winner, winner, chicken dinner and I will DEFINITELY be making this again!
For those of you who think this came out too watery, just add some instant mashed potatoes until it reaches desired consistency. Instant mashed potatoes are a great staple to keep on hand to thicken sauces and gravies.
Great tasting soup! I made this yesterday in my crock pot on the high setting and it was done in easily 4 hours. I opted to make it completely vegetarian so I left out the bacon and used vegetable Better Than Bouillon (a concentrated paste vs. a bouillon cube). I also added finely diced carrot for color and used one medium shallot instead of red onion. And I didn't have half & half so I replaced it with whole milk. I kept to the spices list exactly and it turned out delicious. I think the recipe is a great base. I can see other vegetables being added or meat variations. Don't be shy to swap the chicken base for vegetable. It really was delicious. I also saw some people mentioning the use of Velveeta. In my opinion, if you are going to make soup from scratch, best to use "real" food as much as possible. The traditional cheddar cheese I grated was perfect. Thank you for the recipe.
Love this recipe! So easy and comes out great if you cook it on high for 4 hours. I have already made this four times and every time it came out tasting great.
As written, this recipe is way too salty. A single serving has almost 70% of your daily allotment of sodium. With some modifications, this soup has become one of my favorites. I use half the bullion, omit the season salt, omit the red onion, and leave the bacon until the end as a garnish. If the soup comes out thin I add some instant mashed potato flakes to thicken it.
This was easy flavorful and very rich. I subbed veg broth for chicken and used fresh parsley. I love the addition of ranch dressing mix. This is much more interesting than your typical potato soup!
